Honda to update manufacturing process

According to Japan's Nikkei daily, Honda is set to update their plant manufacturing processes to make lighter vehicles. This is via the use of welding and other techniques, thus saving the weight of mounting bolts and so forth. The first model to benefit from this update is the new N-Box mini-van. Others are expected to follow soon. Apparently the primary target of this updated process will be

Hot Import Nights (HIN) debuts in Malaysia

Hot Import Nights (HIN) is a popular car-show featuring compact and tuner import cars in the U.S.A. This show is
owned and run by Hot Import Nights (the company) who are located in Orange County, California. In the U.S. HINs are
mostly single-night events held in many different cities across the US, ranging from hardcore car enthusiasts cities
like Los Angeles, New

Cleanest Internal Combustion engined car in the world

TOV member Andrew, who is also a Honda salesperson specialising in 'green cars' made this video to demonstrate how clean the Honda Civic GX is. The whole TOV community agrees that he is a little bit crazy to do the things he did in the video but it certainly demonstrates how much trust and commitment he has to his beliefs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEvfvPf0uJg&feature=player_embedded

300 bookings for Honda CR-Z in Malaysia

As expected, the superb pricing and a unique package has made the Honda CR-Z a hit in Malaysia. Honda Malaysia has announced that they have received 300 bookings for the car, despite widespread knowledge that a more powerful version is in the works. 



It has also been announced by some that the automatic (CVT) version will be launched in March next year. Meanwhile Honda Malaysia has added

The future of Acura

While I wasn't at the Tokyo Motor Show, vtec.net 'chief' Jeff Palmer was there and was part of the contingent who participated in the roundtable discussion with Honda CEO Ito-san, as well as the special preview of future Honda car directions, including test-driving the 'future Accord'. Coverage of these events are now 'the' hot news around automotive publications around the world. Yet when I

Latest Update on Thai flood situation from Honda

The press release after the link is Honda's latest update on the flood situation in Thailand. The gist is that Honda have successfully cleared their facilities of flood water and is now in the painful and slow process of recovering the facility to operational status. It will probably take weeks before any of the facility can start again and months for them to recover to fully operational status.

4Gen CR-V to debut in Japan Dec 2nd

Following the U.S launch, the new 4Gen CR-V will debut in the JDM end of this week, on December 2nd 2011. The JDM model features a 2.0l version in addition to the 2.4l version of the U.S. model. This new 2.0l  version comes in FWD and is mated to a CVT/MMT gearbox which is also equipped with a torque converter. For the JDM, the 2.4l version offers 10kW or 20ps higher power and comes with a 5AT

New NSX rumours from Autoten

The japanese website dedicated to 'scoop' information and photos of new cars, autoten.com, has published an article citing Honda CEO Ito-san as saying that the new NSX will be arriving in 2014. Furthermore, autoten.com is reporting that their Honda sources confirmed to them that the car will have a V6 engine delivering 400hp and will use SH-AWD.



For the full autoten article, go to the link

Case Study : How accurate are scoops ?

Scoops of information and especially photos of new to be launched cars are the 'in' thing amongst automotive media fighting to be recognized as 'The' media to go to for information nowadays. In Japan, there are even magazines dedicated to scoops only. Amongst these, Mag-X (of Japan) has from my experience been one of the most accurate in terms of rendering of new models. Their rendering of the

New CR-V launched in the U.S.

With apologies for the delay notification, we (TOV) have complete coverage of the launch of the new 4Gen CR-V at the Auto Angeles Motor Show in the U.S. Along with this launch, we have now published 3 articles which we have been putting on hold due to the embargo imposed by Honda before the launch.



Briefly, the new 4Gen CR-V is more of an evolution of the outgoing 3Gen model. The single

Photos of production CR-V

Famous scoopers Brenda Priddy & Co. has now caught photos of actual production version of the new 4Gen CR-V which the Autoblog website has purchased and published. The photos were taken during the pre-launch media drive event, which was also attended by TOV. However, details from that event are under embargo which is why TOV hasn't published anything about it. This new 4Gen CR-V will be

Update on Impact of flooding to Honda in Thailand

Honda has just provided an update on the situation in Thailand concerning the current flood situation. Read the official press release after the link.


November 14, 2011 - Following is the most current information regarding
the impact of the flooding in Thailand on Honda's operations.

Thai Honda Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Thai Honda), Honda's motorcycle and
power products production

Small Sports EV Concept car the new Honda Beat ?

Of the many concept vehicles Honda has announced will be at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, the 'Small Sports EV' concept car most caught my eye. In recent times there has been persistent rumours, especially from japanese car magazines, about Honda possibly reviving their iconic 'BEAT' convertible sporty coupe of the 90s. The Honda Beat was a small 2-seater is MR configuration and powered by a

Honda Displays at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show

November 10, 2011 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced its lineup of
production and concept-model automobiles, motorcycles, power products,
and other highlights for its display at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show 2011,
which will take place at Tokyo Big Sight from Saturday, December 3
through Sunday, December 11, 2011.






At this motor show, with the booth concept of "What makes people feel

The beginning : New small model details revealed by Honda

A few months ago, there were reports that Honda has announced the introduction of 3 new models in the 'Kei' (mini/super-mini) segment. At their JDM cum corporate website, the first of these new models are now showing up as a teaser. 

This new model is a mini-van, and indeed the teaser has indicated that Honda will be reviving their long extinct 'N' name for this new model. Details that Daniel

Confirmed : Honda CR-V to be launched ON SCHEDULE in Decemeber for the U.S.A.

At our TOV forums, there are now confirmations from dealers that their stocks of the new 4G CR-V are en-route. This directly confirms that for the U.S. at least, the launch of the new CR-V will be on schedule, in the month of December (next month). 



What about Asia ? The flood situation in Thailand is definitely affecting all asian models. Initially it was revealed that there will be an MMC

EXCLUSIVE : Higher performance CR-Z in the works !

Ever since the CR-Z was launched, hardcore Honda enthusiasts have been incessantly pointing out how another higher performance variant to complement the current 124ps variant should be Honda's most logical step forward for this model. Everyone agrees that this model is very attractive and has lots of potential and that Honda just needs to fully develop it. More fuel was put into the fire

Honda CR-Z selling for RM115k !

My internet connection failed right on the day of the CR-Z launch, preventing me from putting up timely updates about the event. With service restored today, I can finally get on with my coverage of the CR-Z for Malaysia.



Honda Malaysia has put the selling price of the CR-Z at an astonishing RM115k, OTR. This is really an incredible price ! To be honest, early last week I SMS'ed some '

More thoughts on the Honda CR-Z for Malaysia/ASEAN

Its barely a day to the official launch of the CR-Z here in Malaysia. So, what can Honda enthusiasts expect from this car ?



To start off, the CR-Z have not and will never be called a 'sports-car' or even a 'sports coupe', certainly not by Honda enthusiasts. And I think it make no pretensions to be one either. After some initial wishy-washy-ness, Honda now calls it a 'sporty coupe'. Actually

Thoughts regarding the Honda CR-Z in Malaysia/ASEAN

With the launch of the Honda CR-Z now almost upon us here in Malaysia, my thoughts have been wondering along the lines of considering what kind of buyers would be interested in this rather unique sporty coupe and what would be the cars they will be cross-shopping against.



First of all, thanks to the dominance of the U.S. on the internet, the widely held assumption is that the CR-Z is a 2-

New Freed Hybrid variants go on sale in Japan

TOKYO, Japan, October 27, 2011 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced it
would begin sales of the all-new Freed Hybrid minivan and Freed Spike
Hybrid tall wagon at dealerships across Japan on October 28, 2011. Like
all models in the acclaimed Freed series, these new hybrids offer a
spacious, comfortable interior and a large cargo area in a compact body.
Both models will combine a smooth ride with

Honda Insight MMC and new 1.5l 'Insight Exclusive' variant goes on sale in Japan

TOKYO, Japan, October 27, 2011 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. introduced the
newly refreshed Insight hybrid model, a popular model known for its
exceptional environmental performance and affordable price. In addition,
the new Insight Exclusive model featuring a 1.5-liter engine has joined
the Insight lineup. Honda will begin sales of both models at
dealerships across Japan on November 11.

Read the

Photos of flooded Honda factory in Thailand

TOVA reader/support 'Fish-Chan' posted some photos of the flooded HAT (Honda
Automobile Thailand) factory on our TOV forums board. I thought those photos would be of
interest to all Honda fans so I decided to publish them here. 



'Fish-Chan' did not indicate from where he sourced the photos from but I
am sure once he reads this post, he will explain. In the meantime, many
thanks to him for

Honda Malaysia plant temporary shutdown

Honda Malaysia halts production and sources parts suppliers

Petaling Jaya, 25th October 2011 – Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd (“Honda Malaysia” or the “Company”) announces that it will halt production in Pagoh Plant, Melaka from today onward due to parts shortage caused by the floods in Thailand. The floods have caused a huge number of factories in the supply chain to shut down, which include Honda

CONFIRMED DATE for Honda CR-Z launch

It is "double-confirmed" now. The Honda CR-Z is coming to Malaysia, to be launched almost right at the start of next month, barely two weeks away. Based on past track record, the information from the TOVA reader says that what will be launched will be the 6MT version, with the CVT version still under consideration and this info should be accurate. With the Malaysian government extending tax

Flood in Thailand : Official Honda Malaysia statement